


Of First Dates and Supportive Friends

by 100SleeplessNights



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hogsmeade, Hot Chocolate, Jock Harry Potter, M/M, Nerd Draco Malfoy, Pansy wears combat boots, Room of Requirement, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-27 03:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18189086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100SleeplessNights/pseuds/100SleeplessNights
Summary: Popular Gryffindor seeker Harry Potter asks nerdy Draco Malfoy out on a date.





	Of First Dates and Supportive Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Let me preface this by saying I didn't mean for this to get this long... it just happened and it took me ages to edit.
> 
> Also, special thanks to my grandma without whose complete disregard for my boundaries and personal space the bit about Harry's hair wouldn't exist.

“Harry just asked me on a date!” Draco said as he reached his friends who were lounging in front of the fire in the Slytherin common room. But his declaration and his happy smile were only met with short and uninterested looks before he lost everyone’s attention again. And why should they believe him? Until recently Draco hadn’t even been sure Harry knew he existed and the thought that his feelings were returned had been nothing but a distant dream. Draco had still hoped though, hoped his friends and especially Pansy knew him well enough to know when he was genuinely happy and genuinely telling the truth, so he couldn’t help it when his face fell, and his disappointment showed for a second before his impenetrable Malfoy mask was in place again.

 

A few hours later Draco was already lying in bed but still wide awake when there was a knock on the door to his private room. He knew the only one who would knock and not just barge in was Pansy, so he told her to come inside.

Pansy did and shut the door behind herself before she sat down on his bed next to him. “Did Potter really ask you out?” she asked.

Draco was glad she didn’t waste his time with small talk, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her about Harry and their date after she hadn’t believed him earlier and didn’t seem quite ready to believe him even now.

“Yes,” he said and decided he would tell her more depending on her reaction.

Pansy’s face lit up with a smile that Draco had last seen when he had told her his parents had decided to send him to Hogwarts and not Durmstrang. She was happy for him.

“That’s amazing!” she exclaimed and hugged him as much as she could with him lying next to her.

“It is,” he confirmed, because it was. So amazing that he had found himself not quite believing it several times already. Now that he thought about it, it really shouldn’t have surprised him as much that Pansy hadn’t believed it either. After all, she had always been the more realistic of the two of them. He was too good at holding grudges to let it go this easily, though. “But why weren’t you this excited when I told you earlier?”

Pansy shot him a look that told him he should know the answer already. When he showed no sign he did, she sighed.

“You had the same look on your face that you usually have when you’re daydreaming, so I wasn’t sure whether you were talking about one of your fantasies or about something that actually happened. The way you ignored all of us after that told me it was the latter though. So, I apologize for not taking you serious from the beginning and not being more supportive.”

Draco stayed silent for a few seconds before he smiled and said, “Apology accepted.”

“Thank you. Now, when is your date? We need to find the perfect outfit for you.”

 

Ten minutes before Harry was supposed to pick him up from the library Draco started to get nervous. What if Harry had changed his mind and didn’t want to go on a date with him after all? Or, even worse, what if this was part of an elaborate prank to make fun of him, because in what universe did the nerdy Slytherin who had his head buried in a book ninety percent of the time have even a sliver of a chance with the popular Gryffindor Quidditch captain?

At least in this universe it seemed, because when Pansy poked him in the side with her elbow and Draco looked up, he found himself face to face, or rather face to stomach, with a brightly smiling Harry.

“Hi,” Harry said and reached up to ruffle the hair at the back of his head. Draco couldn’t help but smile and relax a little at that because he had long since figured out it was one of Harry’s nervous habits and it was nice to know he wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

“Hi,” he replied and from the corner of his eye he could see Pansy roll her eyes at both his and Harry’s awkwardness.

“Is there something you want to finish up or are you ready to go?” Harry asked and sounded like he would be happy with either answer.

Draco looked down at the book he had been reading before he had become to fidgety to focus on it. There was only one page left in the chapter he was currently on, so his decision was made.

“I’ll just finish reading this chapter,” he told Harry. “Maybe you can talk to Pansy in the meantime? I think she finally wants to give her Protective Best Friend speech to someone.”

“That’s right, Potter,” Pansy said and pushed out the seat opposite from her with her foot. “Sit down.”

Harry looked from Pansy to Draco and back before he went to the other side of the table and sat down.

“Give your speech, then,” Harry said, confident as always. Draco was certain he would survive Pansy’s threats and probing questions, so he began reading again.

 

“Your best friend is scary,” Harry said when they had stepped out of the castle and were on their way to Hogsmeade.

Draco smiled. “I know. She’s had years to perfect that speech and her delivery of it after all.”

Harry nodded. “Her speech wasn’t even the scariest part, though. I knew she would threaten me and everything I hold dear. But her boots… I think they could crush my skull, Draco.”

“They probably can,” Draco admitted. He would be at least intimidated by them too if he didn’t know Pansy wouldn’t hurt him without good reason. “But as long as you don’t hurt me, she won’t hurt you. Pansy doesn’t believe in unprovoked violence.”

Harry smiled. “It’s good I have no intention of ever hurting you, then. She sounds like the kind of person you’d never want to cross.”

“Good decision,” Draco said. He took Harry’s hand in his and squeezed it once. “Pansy once kicked some guy in the balls after he called me a… the f-slur. He had to spend a night in the hospital wing.”

Harry’s smile grew. “I wish I could have been there to see that.”

“I’m sure there will be more than enough opportunities to see her in action in the future especially once we make this public,” Draco said and swung Harry’s hand that he was still holding around a little.

“Do you want to? Make this public, I mean.” By the way Harry was sounding like an excited puppy it was more than obvious he wanted it to be.

Draco shrugged. “I don’t need some grand declaration in the Great Hall, but I don’t want to keep it secret either.”

“All right,” Harry accepted easily. “Does that mean I can hold your hand in the corridors and walk you to your classes? And defend you from homophobic assholes alongside Pansy?”

“If this date goes well, you can.”

Harry’s answering smile promised Draco he would do his best to make it so.

 

A few minutes later, they had arrived in Hogsmeade.

“Where do you want to go?” Harry asked.

Draco had expected Harry to already have their date all planned out, so he hadn’t made any plans himself but after a few seconds of thought he had an idea where they could go.

“Do you mind if we go to Scrivenshaft’s first? I heard they have a new line of quills and I wanted to take a look at them,” Draco said.

Harry smiled fondly at him. “Not at all. Lead the way.”

 

“So, where is the difference between those and the quills you’re currently using?” Harry asked once Draco had found the display of new quills at Scrivenshaft’s. To Draco’s surprise he sounded genuinely interested, so he took a few seconds to think before giving him an answer.

“As far as I know these have an even better ink flow and a more comfortable grip. Do you want to try writing with one?” Draco asked and held one of the quills out to Harry.

Harry blushed. “I never really got along well with quills, I wouldn’t want to break it.”

“Oh. Of course.” Draco put the quill away again.

Harry looked surprised by that. “You don’t want to convince me to at least give it a try?”

“No?” Draco said, a little taken aback by the question. He wondered how many people had already convinced Harry to do something he didn’t want to do to make him expect it at every turn. “They should have an easier-to-handle line of quills for witches and wizards who grew up using pens, you could take a look at those if you want to.”

Harry frowned and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “Why did no one think to mention this until now?” A second later his smile was back, and he said, “Show me.”

Draco took Harry’s hand again and led him to the opposite corner of the shop where he stopped in front of a colourful display. “Found them,” he said smiling.

“Thank you,” Harry said and slowly pulled his hand out of Draco’s to pick up one of the quills instead.

A few minutes later, after Harry had chosen a quill and paid for it, they exited the shop again. “Where to next?” Draco asked and reached for Harry’s hand again.

“Honeydukes?” Harry proposed, much to Draco’s delight.

“Sure, let’s go.”

 

Since it wasn’t a Hogsmeade weekend – Draco wasn’t quite sure how Harry had gotten the Headmistress to allow them to leave the school grounds, he doubted she would play favourites or be swayed by Harry’s fame in any way – Honeydukes was blessedly empty save for another customer and the cashier. A giddy smile spread on Draco’s face and he pulled Harry straight toward the chocolates. Harry followed him, smiling as well. Draco was more than glad he apparently didn’t mind Draco’s excitement and love for anything chocolate in the least.

“Which is your favourite?” Harry asked while Draco checked whether there were any new varieties he wanted to try.

“Why?” he asked when he had finished his perusal. “Do you plan to stock up on it?”

“Would you mind?” Harry asked back.

“I would be stupid if I did, wouldn’t I?”

Harry chuckled. “Possibly. Now, what’s your favourite chocolate?”

“This one,” Draco said and held a bar of dark chocolate with cranberries out to Harry.

Harry took it and let it drop back into the box. Then, a bright smile on his face, he picked up the whole box.

“I’m beginning to appreciate you, Mr Potter,” Draco drawled, feigning to be unaffected despite the need he felt to kiss Harry in that moment.

“Shut up, you like me.”

Draco didn’t have it in him to deny that. It was the truth after all. And he liked Harry more and more with every minute they spent on their date. Instead he asked, “What are your favourite sweets?”

Harry shifted the box of chocolate, so he could hold it with one hand and held the other out towards Draco. Draco didn’t hesitate to take it.

“Come on, I’ll show you,” Harry said and led him to a corner of the shop Draco wasn’t sure he’d ever been in during any of his previous Hogsmeade visits. It was filled with baked goods of all kinds, cookies, small cakes, and a lot of other snacks Draco didn’t have a name for. Harry showed him a collection of very ordinary-looking tiny cakes that seemed to be filled with different jams. They looked delicious and Draco regretted a little that so far, he hadn’t really had any time or space to discover new things in Honeydukes. He had always just gone straight to the chocolates and left the overcrowded shop again as soon as possible. Now he picked up two boxes filled with an assortment of the tiny cakes, one for Harry and one for himself to try.

“Thank you,” Harry said.

“What makes you think these are for you?” Draco teased.

Harry smiled brightly and shook his head. “As I said, you like me.”

“I do,” Draco said this time and didn’t feel embarrassed about it in the least even though he could feel a blush spread on his face.

Harry didn’t tease him about the admission, his smile just widened further, and he said, “I knew it.”

They spent a few more minutes walking around the shop to take advantage of the emptiness but it was only when they were already on their way to pay for their sweets that Draco spotted a display of lollipops which according to the advertising tasted like freshly plucked fruit. Draco was immediately sold. The fact that they also coloured your mouth when you ate them was an added bonus.

“Let’s try those!” he said and gestured toward the display as much as he could while carrying two packs of cakes and holding Harry’s hand.

“All right,” Harry said and let go of Draco’s hand to pick out two sour cherry-flavoured lollipops. Draco wasn’t sure whether Harry knew sour cherries were Draco’s favourite fruit or Harry’s favourite that he wanted to share with Draco, but he appreciated the gesture either way.

 

When they stepped out of the shop, their purchases shrunk by the cashier and stowed in their pockets, Harry handed Draco one of the lollipops and then unwrapped his own.

“Damn these are amazing!” Harry exclaimed a second later. That prompted Draco to unwrap his as well and when he tasted it, he could only agree with Harry. The lollipop did indeed taste like freshly plucked sour cherries and reminded him of summer afternoons spent among the many fruit trees around the Manor.

“Was there anywhere else you wanted to go?” Harry asked with a smile still on his face.

“The bookstore?” Draco suggested, though he was already half-convinced Harry wouldn’t want to go. He was used to that from his Hogsmeade visits with his friends.

“Sure,” Harry said with an easy smile, like it hadn’t even crossed his mind that going to the bookstore might be a waste of his time, like Pansy so often told Draco, or just plain boring like Blaise claimed it to be. Draco was surprised by that but mostly he was very, very happy.

“Thank you,” he said and tangled his fingers with Harry’s once again.

Harry squeezed his hand and pulled him a little closer so his forearm brushed Draco’s while they were walking.

Draco didn’t know why but for some reason he had expected the bookstore to have even fewer patrons than Honeydukes. Instead the opposite was true. It wasn’t crowded by any means but even from the entrance Draco could already see several people browsing the shelves. Once he had soaked in the atmosphere of the shop for a few seconds he tugged on Harry’s hand and led him over to the small shelf stuffed with Muggle fiction. If Harry was surprised by that he hid it exceptionally well. Instead he seemed interested in the books as well.

“Anything you would recommend?” Harry asked.

Draco suddenly forgot about every book he had ever read and not only because that had been the last question he had expected Harry to ask. It just happened sometimes when people asked him too directly about something he was passionate about.

“Give me a minute,” he said and started browsing the shelves again, now looking for books he had already read and liked. When he spotted a copy of _Alice in Wonderland_ , he smiled.

“Try this,” he said and handed the book to Harry. Harry gave him another happy smile.

After some more browsing Draco chose _The Perks of Being a Wallflower_ for himself. He’d already thought about buying it the last time he’d been to Hogsmeade, but back then Pansy had dragged him to the next shop before he could, so he decided to pick it up now.

 

“Should we go back to the castle and maybe wander around the grounds for a bit?” Harry asked when they had stepped outside again.

“I’d like that,” Draco said. He wasn’t ready to let this date end yet.

Harry gave him another of his brilliant smiles and linked their hands again. Draco wasn’t sure how he would be able to go on once their date was over and Harry wasn’t there to hold his hand and smile at him all the time. In the short time since they had left the castle, he had gotten used to having Harry right by his side, most likely because he had wished for it to happen for so long.

 

“I’m so glad you’re here with me,” Harry said as they reached the path leading back to Hogwarts. “I’ve wanted to ask you out for ages, I’ve just never found the courage to do it until now.”

“You have?” Draco asked surprised.

“I must have been very stealthy about my watching you, then. I’ve been obsessed with you pretty much since day one or so Ron and Hermione like to tell me.”

“Obsessed?” Draco echoed, not able to believe it. He had watched Harry almost every second he had to spare, sometimes even more than that, there was no way he could have missed obsession-level watching from him.

“Um… yes? Not in a creepy way I promise. But whenever we are in the same room my eyes tend to stray towards you, be it in the library where I snuck glances at you when I should be studying or in Potions where some of my potions were only ruined because my eyes were on you and not my cauldron.”

“Oh. That makes sense.”

“It does?” Harry asked. Draco blushed. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But now that he had he felt he owed Harry an explanation.

“Yes, I… watched you, too, whenever I could. I was wondering how I never caught you looking at me but if you only did it when I was concentrated on something else there was no way I could have caught you.”

“You watched me, too?” Harry asked, his smile and voice too soft to be teasing.

“You should know it’s hard to look away from you once one has started,” Draco said, way more honest than he usually was with anyone but Pansy. If Harry continued to be so open, trustworthy and easy to talk to Draco could see it becoming a habit.

“Well, I’ve never had trouble with that,” Harry said, now definitely teasing but as far as Draco could tell it was good-natured. “But considering the eyes I feel on me at almost all times I can see it might be a problem for other people.”

Draco laughed. “Maybe you’re just not looking into a mirror often enough for you to have that problem.”

Harry seemed to contemplate that for a second. “You might be right about that,” he said. “I tend to avoid mirrors, so I don’t have to witness my hair getting messier each day.”

“I like your messy hair,” Draco said. “Sometimes I wonder whether it’s really as soft as it looks.” He blushed. Once again, he had been more honest than he usually was. Damn Harry and his friendly nature.

“You can touch it and find out if you want to,” Harry said, and the easy offer filled Draco with warmth. He had witnessed more than once how Harry had snapped at someone who had touched his hair without his consent or turned down someone who had asked. That Harry would let him touch it after they had only spent very little time together felt like an enormous show of trust. Draco would definitely continue to be honest with him if it led to results like this.

“Thank you.” He turned to face Harry and raised the hand that wasn’t holding Harry’s until he could slowly slide it into Harry’s hair right next to his ear. It felt… different than he had imagined. He was used to his own straight and slippery hair but while Harry’s hair was definitely soft it wasn’t smooth and even curled around his fingers in places, almost like it was trying to pull him in.

“It’s really soft,” he said a little awed and slowly pulled his hand out of Harry’s hair again. “And I feel like it has its own personality.”

Harry snickered. “That, it definitely has. It does whatever it wants up there and I have no power over it. So, I decided it’s better if I don’t even try to make it look less like I just got out of bed.”

“A very good decision, if I may say so.”

“You may, Mr Malfoy,” Harry said and squeezed Draco’s hand before they continued on their way.

A few minutes later they reached the Black Lake and as they walked along the shore the giant squid seemingly waved at them with one of its tentacles. Harry waved back.

“Dork,” Draco said with a fond smile.

“Shut up. Did you know the giant squid isn’t magical?”

“It isn’t?” Draco had not known that until now. But now that he thought about it, he guessed it made sense. There hadn’t ever been anything even resembling the squid in the books about magical creatures he’d read.

“No. Hagrid brought it here as a baby, he got it from a marine biologist I think is what he said.”

Draco rolled his eyes. Of course, it had been Hagrid who had brought it here. After the dragon fiasco in their first year there was very little Draco would put past him.

“Yeah, I know,” Harry said. “But at least it’s one of Hagrid’s more harmless animals.”

“Without a doubt. If I never have to see another Blast-Ended Skrewt again, I will die a very happy man.”

“Me, too,” Harry agreed.

They continued to walk along the shore of the Black Lake but the closer they got to the castle the slower Draco walked. He still didn’t want this date to end, he was having way too much fun.

“Draco?” Harry asked concerned. “Is something wrong?”

Draco shook his head. “No. It’s just… I don’t want our date to end, yet.” Draco already regretted his decision to be more honest. It made him feel much too vulnerable.

“Oh. Did you think we would just go our separate ways once we reached the castle?”

Draco blushed but nodded.

“ _Oh_. Well, I don’t know what gave you that impression, but I was actually hoping we could go to the kitchens to ask the house elves for some hot chocolate and spend some more time together.”

That thought alone already warmed Draco up from the inside and made all his vulnerability worth it. “I would love that.”

Harry gave him a brilliant smile. “Great. Come on, then.” He tugged on Draco’s hand that was still in his and together they ran the last few yards to the castle.

They reached it a few seconds later both wearing bright smiles just as the doors opened for them. Together they stepped into the welcoming warmth still holding hands.

“That was fun!” Draco exclaimed and let his head drop on Harry’s shoulder.

Harry turned his head to look at him with a fond smile. “It was. Pity that we aren’t allowed to run inside.”

“Typical Gryffindor,” Draco teased.

Harry snickered. “Would you show me how to strut through the castle like a dignified Slytherin, then?”

“It would be a pleasure,” Draco said in a mock-serious tone. “First, you have to hold your head up high like so.” He pulled his head off Harry’s shoulder again and tilted it a bit upwards. “Then you have to stand straight, pull your shoulders back, push your chest out and pull your stomach in. And then you just have to walk like this, at a measured pace and with the backs of your hands facing forward, to display dominance as my father likes to say.”

“That looks very uncomfortable,” Harry said looking sceptic. “But all right, I’ll give it a try.”

Harry was… passable at strutting. His gaze soon wandered to the ground instead of the corridor ahead and his shoulders slumped again not long after but at least he kept his pace moderate until they reached the door to the kitchens.

“How did I do?” Harry asked.

“Acceptable. You would stick out like a sore thumb in Slytherin, but it was much more dignified than the slump you showcase every morning on your way to breakfast.”

Harry smiled. “I can live with that.” He tickled the pear on the painting in front of them and the door to the kitchens swung open.

“Harry Potter!” one of the house elves exclaimed as she spotted them and just a few seconds later both Harry and Draco were surrounded by a group of house elves.

“What can Blinky do for Harry Potter?” the house elf who had first noticed them asked.

“Would you please make some hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream for us?” Harry asked. It was the politest Draco had ever seen him.

“Of course, Harry Potter. Would sirs like to sit down while they’re waiting?” Blinky gestured towards a small round table in one of the corners of the kitchen.

“Yes, thank you, Blinky,” Harry said

Draco followed Harry to the small table where they sat down opposite each other.

“When did the house elves become so enamoured with you?” Draco asked.

Harry stiffened for a moment, but he relaxed so quickly Draco could’ve almost convinced himself he had imagined it.

“It’s a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?” Harry asked. He sounded like he would rather tell Draco anything else.

“Only if you want to tell me,” Draco said softly and held out his hand for Harry to take.

Harry took it and squeezed it once. “I… I want to tell you. Just not here.”

Draco accepted that with a nod. Before he could find a different topic to talk about, Blinky came over to the table, carrying two giant mugs of hot chocolate. She put them down on the table and had already turned around again when Harry said, “Thank you.”

Blinky turned around again with the biggest smile Draco had ever seen a house elf wear on her face. “Harry Potter is very welcome. Blinky hopes he likes his hot chocolate.”

“Yes, thank you, Blinky,” Draco added a bit awkwardly. He had never thanked a house elf before and now felt bad about that.

Blinky looked stunned for a second but then said, “Draco Malfoy is welcome, as well.” before she turned around again and returned to her chores.

“Continue with that and they will worship you too in no time.”

Draco blushed. “I’m not sure I want that. But I’ll be nicer to them.”

Harry laughed. “Fair enough.”

 

“Any preferences where we should go now?” Harry asked Draco once the door to the kitchens had fallen shut behind them.

Draco shook his head. He hoped Harry knew a place where they could go, because even after six years at Hogwarts he still mostly stayed in the Slytherin common room or went to the library in his free time. Were there even places beside the obvious where people from different houses could go to spend time together?

“Okay. I have something to show you then. Follow me.”

Draco gladly complied and took Harry’s outstretched hand. Harry led him through what felt like the whole castle until they reached a seemingly pointless corridor on the eighth – or was it the seventh? – floor. There were no doors in the whole corridor, just a painting of dancing trolls of all things on one of the walls. It almost felt like the corridor had only been added to have a place to hang the ugly painting where not many people would have to look at it.

“Have you ever heard of the Room of Requirement?” Harry asked, pulling Draco out of his contemplations.

“No, I can’t say that I have,” Draco said. He had read a lot of books about Hogwarts, even before he knew he would be able to attend, but a _Room of Requirement_ or something similar hadn’t been mentioned in any of them and he had never heard his father talk about it either.

“You might be in for a surprise, then,” Harry said looking excited. “Watch this.” Harry walked up and down in front of the wall directly opposite the troll painting. Draco just wanted to ask him what exactly he wanted to achieve when an ornate wooden door materialized in the wall.

“Voila!” Harry said and turned towards Draco with a big smile.

Draco was indeed surprised, but he was even more curious. What kind of magic could conjure a room like that? Could he learn it? He shook off the questions piling up in his brain. He was here to spend time with Harry, not delve into magic theory.

He went to join Harry at the door. “Impressive,” he commented.

“Yes, Hogwarts is great, isn’t she? Do you want to do the honours?”

“Yes,” Draco said. He slowly turned the knob on the door and pulled it open just as slowly. When he got a glimpse inside, he gasped. Behind the door was a well-stocked library that had the cosiness of a living room. Draco hadn’t even stepped into it yet and he already didn’t want to leave again.

“Do you like it?” Harry asked suddenly sounding insecure. “I noticed how comfortable you looked in the library, but I wanted something cosier.”

“Like it?” Draco said. “It’s amazing, Harry. I’m sure if I had conjured the room it would have at least looked very similar if not exactly like this.”

“Oh,” Harry said and relaxed almost instantly. “That’s good then.”

Draco smiled at him and then stepped into the room. Harry was right behind him and pulled the door closed. When Draco turned around it was gone.

“No one can find us here?” he guessed.

Harry gave him an impish smile. “Not unless we _require_ them to.”

“Makes sense,” Draco said and went to sit down on one of the armchairs. It was even more comfortable than it looked, he found.

Harry set down his mug on the table in front of the armchairs and then pushed the second armchair until it stood right beside the one Draco was sitting in.

“If you want to be close, can’t we just ask for a couch?” Draco asked and as soon as the words had left his mouth the armchair shuddered under him and fused with the other into a couch.

“Yes, right,” Harry said and blushed as he sat down next to Draco. “Sometimes, I don’t think all that much about the things I do.”

“That’s okay,” Draco said. “I usually can’t stop thinking so we balance each other out.”

“That’s kind of reassuring, actually,” Harry said and picked up his mug again before he leaned against Draco’s side.

“I try.”

 

For a few minutes they sipped on their drinks in comfortable silence.

“Do you want to hear about my adventures with house elves now?” Harry asked when Draco’s mug was about half empty.

“Yes,” Draco said and set his mug down on the table. He didn’t want to spill the hot chocolate or choke on it if something Harry said surprised him.

“Do you remember Dobby?” Harry asked. It was an innocent enough question, but Draco was still startled by it and glad he had set his drink aside for the time being.

“Yes,” he said when he had caught himself again. Dobby had been his favourite elf until his father had freed him at the end of his second year at Hogwarts. “But how do _you_ know him?”

“He paid me a visit at my relatives’ house the summer after our first year to tell me I shouldn’t return to Hogwarts because if I did, I would be in grave danger.”

“You still came back, though.”

“Yeah,” Harry said. He took a deep breath and exhaled it again before he added, “Everything was better than staying with my relatives longer than I had to.”

Draco didn’t know what to say to that. He had never felt something even just similar to it and he was almost certain Harry had heard every possible empty phrase too often already, so he wrapped his arms around Harry tightly in an attempt to comfort him.

“Thank you,” Harry said, his voice thick with unshed tears. “Fortunately, I won’t ever have to go back to them or even see them again.”

“Well, that’s… something at least,” Draco said, still feeling incredibly out of his depth.

“Yeah, it’s only about seventeen years overdue. But I don’t want to talk about them any longer. I was telling you about Dobby.”

“Of course,” Draco said and slowly let Harry out of his embrace again. Before he could let go of him completely Harry touched his arm. Draco stilled.

“Stay?” Harry requested. “Your hugs feel really nice.”

Draco couldn’t have said no to that even if he had wanted to, so he slid his arms back around Harry and snuggled into him a little. “Like this?” he asked to make sure Harry was comfortable.

“Yes. Exactly like that,” Harry said and then continued recounting Dobby’s attempts to keep him from returning to Hogwarts.

 

An hour later, after Harry was done telling him about his encounters with Dobby and the Hogwarts house elves and both his and Draco’s tears over Dobby’s death had stopped falling, Draco was very grateful for the charm that kept his hot chocolate warm. He could really use the spark of happiness chocolate brought now.

“Thank you for telling me,” he said between sips.

“Thank you for listening,” Harry replied. “It was very freeing to finally tell someone, and you in particular about it.”

Draco squeezed Harry a little tighter with the arm that was still wrapped around him.

Harry smiled at him. “I really want to kiss you now, I’ve wanted to all afternoon to be honest. Can I?”

“Yes,” Draco breathed, because he too had wanted to kiss Harry for hours. He set his mug aside again and let Harry pull him closer.

The kiss they shared was clumsy, there was no other word for it, most likely curtesy of it being Draco’s first, but for once in his life Draco didn’t mind being clumsy and already couldn’t wait to kiss Harry again so he could get better at it.

“I really like this,” Harry said softly.

“Kissing me?” Draco asked.

Harry snickered. “Yes, of course, that too, but I meant spending time and sharing space with you. You’re very easy to be around and I enjoy being close to you.”

“Oh.” Hearing that made Draco happier than any amount of chocolate could. “I really like this, too.”

 

Another hour went by until they moved more than an inch at a time. Even then, Draco was reluctant to leave, and he only got up from the couch and out of the Room of Requirement when Harry reminded him dinner would be served soon.

He followed Harry down what once again felt like a dozen sets of stairs and into the dungeons where Harry stopped right in front of the entrance to the Slytherin common room. With how Harry knew his way around the castle so well Draco wasn’t even surprised he knew where it was.

“I had a lot of fun today,” Harry said.

“I did, too.” Draco smiled bashfully. “Can I kiss you again?”

Harry’s answering smile was almost blinding in its intensity. “Yes, please.”

Draco stepped forward so his chest was touching Harry’s and kissed him softly.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” Harry asked and gently brushed a strand of hair away off Draco’s forehead.

“I’ll probably spend most of my time in the library tomorrow,” Draco said. He had an Arithmancy quiz coming up and he still needed to study for it. “But you can join me if you don’t distract me…. too much.”

“All right. I’ll join you for some time then, to make sure you don’t study _too much_.”

“How accommodating of you,” Draco deadpanned even though he more than appreciated the offer. He wasn’t ready yet to acknowledge out loud how he tended to obsess over studying when there was no one with him who could slow him down.

“I do my best,” Harry said still smiling like he didn’t mind Draco’s tone at all.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Draco said with his nose stuck in the air, just for a second assuming the role his father expected him to play whenever they were out in public together. “But you should leave now, I’m sure Pansy will demand a million answers from me the second I step into the common room and not let me go to dinner until she has them.”

“Okay,” Harry said. “Just one more thing.”

“Yes?” Their afternoon had been amazing so Harry wouldn’t say anything to ruin it now, would he?

“Will you be my boyfriend?”

That definitely didn’t ruin anything. “Yes,” Draco said without hesitation.

“Thank you.” Harry squeezed his hand again. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Then he let go of Draco’s hand, turned around and walked out of the dungeons again.

Draco wore a bright smile as he touched the wall concealing the entrance to the Slytherin common room with his wand. He had a boyfriend. _Harry Potter_ was his boyfriend. Chocolate was nothing against the happiness Harry had spread in him throughout the day.

 

“Draco! You were gone forever!” Pansy exclaimed when she spotted him from her perch on the sofa in front of the common room fire. “I would have gotten worried if I didn’t trust your self-preservation instincts so much.”

Draco rolled his eyes. He knew Pansy had been at least a little worried and he appreciated that.

“Well, I’m back in one piece as you can see. There weren’t any feral Gryffindors waiting in the shadows to take a bite out of me.”

“Good for you. Now come here and tell me everything.”

Draco sighed. He had known this would happen, but he had hoped Pansy would be hungry enough to want to go to dinner first. “Short rundown now, details later?” he bargained. “I don’t want to miss dinner.”

Pansy pretended to be annoyed by it before affecting a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. But the details better be worth the wait.”

 

“Details, now!” Pansy demanded once they were sitting in Draco’s room after dinner.

A soft smile spread on Draco’s face. “It was the best date ever, Pan. Harry paid attention to everything I said and did and seemed genuinely interested in it as well.”

Pansy’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “He did? To me he always seemed to be the kind of jock who only paid attention to Quidditch and breaking any and all rules.”

“Yes. He even went to Scrivenshaft’s and to the bookstore with me without a word of complaint. On the contrary, when we were in the bookstore, he even asked me for a recommendation.”

“That almost sounds like one of your domestic daydreams, just more realistic,” Pansy pointed out.

Draco sighed. “Yes, it does. But the reality is so much better than any of my dreams were.”

“Sap,” Pansy teased him. “Now give me more details.”

Draco gave them to her without a complaint wearing a soft smile the whole time.

 

The next day Draco had already been in the library for a while when someone slumped down on the chair next to him. He already wanted to tell them to leave but when he turned, he realized it was Harry. His annoyed frown morphed into a smile in less than a second.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, yourself. It seems I already distracted you.”

“Yes. But I think I’m overdue for a break anyway. I’ve been here for –” Draco checked the time, “– two hours already.”

“Oh. Do you want to go for a short walk then?” Harry offered.

“Sure,” Draco said. A walk sounded like exactly what he needed now after he had realized just how long he had already been sitting in the library and the fresh air would surely do him good as well.

 

When they returned to the library half an hour later Draco was surprised but pleased to see Harry take out some of his school books as well.

“Can you finally use the library for its intended purpose now that you don’t have to watch me from afar any longer?” he couldn’t help but tease.

Harry looked down at his books and blushed. “I hope so. Let’s see how long it lasts before I’m inevitably distracted because bioluminescence in magical creatures is much less interesting to read about than you are to look at.”

Draco blushed, too, at the compliment. “I’ll try to be less interesting to look at, then.”

Harry snickered. “I think that’s impossible, but you can try.”

 

Some time later, Draco was stuck on an especially complicated equation. His brain had already run through all the different approaches he had learned about in the last few years but none of them seemed to fit this particular problem. He closed the book and gave a frustrated groan. Maybe he should take another break.

Just as he had that thought, a cranberry chocolate bar appeared in his field of vision.

“Snack break?” Harry asked.

“Sounds great,” Draco said and took the chocolate bar from Harry. “Thank you.”

“Wanna tell me about the exercise you’re stuck on?” Harry asked after Draco had finished the chocolate bar and drunk a bit of water Harry had also brought. “I know I can’t give you any advice or anything but sometimes just talking it through with someone helps with solving it, or at least it does for me.”

“All right.” It definitely couldn’t hurt, and Draco wasn’t quite ready yet to get frustrated all over again.

Ten minutes later Draco had found a solution. “Thank you,” he said after he had written it down. “I’m glad you thought of this, it helped a lot.” Maybe he should ask Harry to be his study partner from now on, he seemed to be well prepared for it already.

“You’re welcome,” Harry said and gave him a bight smile. “But I should leave now. Some of the Gryffindors wanted to get together with the Hufflepuffs for an impromptu Quidditch match and of course they can’t do that without their Seeker.”

Draco smiled back at him. “Of course not. Have fun! If I get through the last few pages in this chapter quickly enough, I might come down to watch.”

Harry’s smile grew even brighter. “I’d love that. Can I get a kiss for luck?”

“Yes,” Draco said and gave Harry a quick peck. “Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Harry said and then got up and left the library again.

Twenty minutes later, when Draco was done with the chapter he had been working on, it was almost too easy to stop studying and go outside to watch his boyfriend play Quidditch instead.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@asexual-lovegood](http://asexual-lovegood.tumblr.com/)


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